Employers worry about top employees taking their talent elsewhere

Employers in some industries are having a hard time finding the right
people to fill vacancies. Increasingly, they’re fretting about keeping
the key talent they have. As the economy improves, organizations that
are looking to grow or restock their ranks will compete aggressively
for top-notch employees—and that could prove costly for companies that
don’t have retention strategies.

That’s according to Retention of Key Talent and the Role of
Rewards, a survey of 526 human resources professionals from a
variety of industries released this month by WorldatWork, a nonprofit
that focuses on compensation and benefits.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said that the retention of key
talent—employees who are the strongest performers, have high potential
or are in critical jobs—has become more difficult in recent months,
and the same percentage said they expect top employees to search for
better jobs as the economy improves.

Retention is now a major concern of senior management, the majority
of respondents (65%) said. About half (51%) of the survey respondents
are confident their organization can retain key talent as the economy improves.

Companies that have retention programs tend to keep key talent by
offering above-average pay and benefits such as flexible scheduling,
the survey showed.

Most companies have such retention plans, but their effectiveness
varies. Seventy-four percent say identification of key talent is the
most effective step. Offering pay above the labor market (73%),
allowing flexible hours or telecommuting (69%) and discussing future
opportunities with the key talent (67%) also ranked among the most
effective strategies.

Feelings that pay levels are unfair relative to others outside the
company (21%).

Workloads are too heavy (19%).

Work-life balance issues (19%).

Concerns about the direction of the organization and its leaders
(18%).

Feelings that pay levels are unfair relative to the employee’s
performance and contribution (17%).

Lack of training and developmental opportunities (17%).

As the global economy has limped along, employees have become
more frustrated because, even if they retain their jobs, layoffs have
made their work more difficult and, in some cases, reduced benefits,
such as a 401(k) match, the report says.

Long term, talent shortages could limit companies’ ability to expand
and compete, the report says, as a result of older workers retiring,
increasing specialization and technical demands of jobs, global
competition for talent, and education systems not keeping up with
business demands.

TAX NEWS

President Barack Obama signed legislation that retroactively extended more than 50 expired tax provisions for 2014, allowing taxpayers to take advantage of a host of tax incentives during this filing season.

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